They Say It Comes In Threes.

What is “it”?…death.

Today, I learned of the death of three men that have played important, albeit different roles in my life.

I received an e-mail this afternoon from my college announcing the death of a great priest and then the death of the man who was the head of the Pyschology Dept. when I was a young, impressionable Psych major.

Here is the press release from Mt. St. Mary’s University announcing the deaths.

Mourning the Loss of Two Members of the Mount Family

Dr. Kiernesky was an enigma, wrapped in a puzzle as one of my roomates would say. He fueled my passion for learning about obscure facts and had a sense of humor that was as dry as the Sahara. Shortly before he retired, I ran into him on campus during one of my visits and we talked for over an hour.

Fr. Paul was one of the priests that made The Mount the great institution that it was. I mentioned him in the middle of one of my posts, called “What I Did On My Day Off”

On another occasion, I wrote an article that was published in the Mount Alumni Magaizine, called “A Walk In The Rain”, which is one of my favorite articles. I thought I had posted a blog of that article, but apparently I never did as searching for it came up empty. Look for it soon.

Around 4:30 this afternoon, my wife called to tell me that her Uncle Joe died. Not unexpected and the end of a life well lived. I wrote about my times with Joe here and then again here.

Joseph F. Scott
1924 -2014

Joe was a war hero, college president, master horseman and a fun guy to be with. As he is eulogized over the next few days, there will be lots of great comments, but no one will ever say that Joe never said a mean word about anyone. Joe was involved in Jersey City Politics and if he didn’t like you, he was not shy about saying so…. Joe was on the second wave at Normandy, marched through Bastogne and spent the winter in the Ardennes Forest during what is known as the Battle of The Bulge. He was where it was happening.

Three men who have in their own way, impacted my life.

They will be missed.

They will be remembered.

Your work is done.

Eternal rest grant onto them…..Rest in peace.